The music world is mourning the loss of the lead singer for a trailblazing girl group that began in the late 1950s.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Arlene Smith, who sang lead vocals for The Chantels, has passed away at 84 years old.
The Chantels are renowned for being one of the first major all-female vocal groups, credited with paving the way for the girl groups that followed in the 1960s, including The Supremes, The Ronettes, The Shirelles and others.
Early Beginnings
Smith was one of five co-founders of the group, alongside Sonia Goring, Jackie Landry, Lois Harris and Renée Minus.
They were just teenagers when they met as classmates and members of the choir at St. Anthony of Padua school in the Bronx.
They decided to name their group The Chantels by borrowing the name from a nearby Catholic Church, St. Francis de Chantal.
‘Maybe’ Topped the Charts
Smith was the leader of the group, serving as chief songwriter and and main vocalist.
Her goreous voice can be heard on the group’s signature hit, “Maybe.”
Released in 1957, the single peaked at No. 2on the R&B charts, while climbing to No. 15 on the pop charts.
The song was certainly relatable, about a woman trying to win back a man who’s no longer in love with her. Its success made The Chantels one of the first female R&B vocal groups to experience success on a nationwide level.
As THR reports, in 2003, Rolling Stone listed “Maybe” as one of its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” with the song ranking at No. 199.
More Hits Followed
While The Chantels never matched the success of “Maybe,” they went on land some subsequent singles on the charts.
These include 1957’s “He’s Gone,” which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Look In My Eyes,” which hit No. 14 on that chart when it was released in 1961.
The Chantels Paved the Way
The Chantels were highly influential in their day, inspiring other young women to form their own girl groups.
One of those groups was The Shirelles, which charted such hit singles as “Will You Still Love Me Tomrrow,” “Soldier Boy” and “Mama Said.”
“They were our inspiration,” Shirelles singer Shirley Alston Reeves once said, via THR. “The harmonies were outrageous. We thought it was angelic. Of course, it made us want to harmonize the same way.”
A Musical Legacy
After The Chantels were dropped by their record label at the end of the 1950s, Smith decided to try her luck as a solo artist.
That attempt never gained traction, and in 1961 Smith reformed the group. That led to “Look Into My Eyes” putting the group back on the charts.
During the 1970s, Smith continued to front The Chantels, albeit as the only original member.
This iteration of the group featured Carol Douglas (who went on to have a hit as a solo artist with disco track “Doctor’s Orders”) and Louise Bethune.
She eventually left the music business, and became an elementary school teacher — the profession she maintained until her retirement. Smith never married, and had no children.
The Chantels were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002; the group made it all the way to the final ballot for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and again in 2009, but never moved beyond that.
